Blogging as a communication tool might actually create a conducive environment between the university community, the PR departments together with the university management.
I would like to think that by using blogs as another form of communication with our audiences, we will shift from a system of one-way communication to an interactive and transparent one, putting into practice Grunig and Hunt’s two-way symmetrical model of communication.
Maybe this might change the way stakeholders view practitioners because at present university PR practitioners are labeled as ‘spinsters’, puppets of the management who represent only one voice.
ARE PR PRACTITIONERS LAGGING BEHIND?
I remember UKZN’s February 2006 strike. Staff, supported by a minority of students went on strike because of wage dispute. The management offered only 4% annual increase and staff demanded more. It was actually the biggest ever to be experienced by UKZN, lasting up to two weeks.
I remember UKZN’s February 2006 strike. Staff, supported by a minority of students went on strike because of wage dispute. The management offered only 4% annual increase and staff demanded more. It was actually the biggest ever to be experienced by UKZN, lasting up to two weeks.
To view strike pictures http://southafrica.indymedia.org/news/2006/02/9673.php
As usual, the Communications department will send press releases to journalists updating them about the strike and also sending messages to staff using the university website.
At that moment, the Communications department was not aware that there were constant updates about the strike that happened minute after minute via new media.
UKZN's staff members were blogging. Posting videos, pictures and messages in their blogs.
As usual, the Communications department will send press releases to journalists updating them about the strike and also sending messages to staff using the university website.
At that moment, the Communications department was not aware that there were constant updates about the strike that happened minute after minute via new media.
UKZN's staff members were blogging. Posting videos, pictures and messages in their blogs.
People were communicating actively and involved in debates with their colleagues at other university’s in South Africa as well as internationally. Journalists were also picking up stories from these blogs. It was just a minority who were blogging, but the impact of the communication was effective.
UKZN Strike Bloggers:
Zhenya Gene Senyak blog is about the lagging behind of PR practitioners as he states that the ground has shifted so rapidly that too many PR people continue to deliver products that no longer work to a media world that no longer exists. New PR depends on new media, more a neural network of interactions than a broadcast channel. Every reader is a publisher...new media is a world that demands a creative response. http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=830391
Utilising only the university website to communicate with the audience is insufficient. If university stakeholders are using new media as a preferred tool for communication - especially blogs, there might be a need for PR practitioners to adopt the trend.
I perceive Public Relations and Public Communications within the higher education sector to be very important. Therefore, I would really like to see public relations and communications practitioners who work for university’ in South Africa learning to blog as a new trend of practising PR and as a tool for effective communication. It's importance to keep up with the technology savvy global world. Practitioners should see blogging as important as writing a press release for a newspaper.
I perceive Public Relations and Public Communications within the higher education sector to be very important. Therefore, I would really like to see public relations and communications practitioners who work for university’ in South Africa learning to blog as a new trend of practising PR and as a tool for effective communication. It's importance to keep up with the technology savvy global world. Practitioners should see blogging as important as writing a press release for a newspaper.
3 comments:
As part of Communications at another University in South Africa, the tug of war experienced by "spin doctors" hits close to home.
The beginning of the year very often brings strikes to the fore as staff and students negotiate fee and pay increases.
Staff at my institution do not blog about issues at the university. What we do have in place is an internal noticeboard that staff can freely post their comments on. This does allow for academic freedom, and gives staff a chance to comment on issues.
A problem we have here is that certain sites are blocked - eg Facebook is blocked during work hours. Staff are therefore not always able to access new media.
In the run up to what might be a time of heavy strike activity, your advice may well be used in our crisis communications plan!
It seems to me the PR war to counteract negative comments in the blog could be never ending.
I am just wondering how PR department could be able to fight back by blogging as staff in PR department are limited while the number of bloggers out there are unlimited. Seems fighting a war without boundary with the limited staff! The reality might be that PR staff are torn among different tasks all the time especially during crisis!
In the end, of course, it will always be quality over quantity.
The aim for practitioners to start blogging is not to fight back. But practitioners should be able to respond appropriately to their audiences, not using only traditional media as it is currently happening. If the people we are serving are blogging, what is stopping us from doing the same and learning new modern skills.
As communications specialists we need to be abreast of all the communication strategies.
Post a Comment